Modernist claim that traditionalists started a liturgical culture war
To the East – or rather: to absurdity? Old Mass in St. Peter's Basilica reveals problem for traditionalists
The right-wing Catholic US Cardinal Burke recently celebrated a so-called 'Old Mass' in St. Peter's Basilica. Liturgical scholar Florian Kluba offers a critical perspective.
On Saturday, October 25, 2025, Cardinal Raymond Burke celebrated a Pontifical Mass in St. Peter's Basilica in the usus antiquior, better known as the Old Mass. It was the highlight of the annual Rome pilgrimage of the traditionalist association Coetus Internationalis Summorum Pontificum. "A liberating move?"[1] asked Domradio, while the FAZ, in a commentary, even spoke of a quiet and subtle correction of Francis by Pope Leo[2]. No sooner had the "Ite, missa est" been sung and the bishop's blessing given than images and videos of hymnal enthusiasm flooded, especially the conservative and traditionalist channels of social media. This article, through its own analysis, delves deeper into the important aspect of the direction of celebration in this context, an issue already addressed in an interview with Andreas Odenthal and in the online article by Jan Hendrik Stens.
The celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass seems to exert a particular fascination on many, especially younger people. Many hope for a profound experience of the divine, a return to piety and devout devotion—how this expectation aligns with the multitude of smartphones and the staged events on social networks remains questionable. Besides Gregorian chant, the Latin language, and the often at least Baroque-style vestments, the celebration with the congregation facing away from the people is considered a characteristic feature of the usus antiquior. But it was precisely this Pontifical Mass in St. Peter's Basilica that exposed the adherents of the Traditional Latin Mass—and especially those responsible for liturgical preparation—on this last point: instead of focusing on the orientation of prayer, it seems to be more about demarcation.
"Christians pray facing east. This principle was self-evident to the entire early Church."[3]
Like Judaism and Islam, Christianity has always shared a common orientation of prayer: ad orientem, eastward—a posture of prayer that seems to be increasingly forgotten today. Turning eastward, toward the rising sun, symbolizes the anticipated return of the crucified and risen Christ as eschatological judge and savior.[4] Joseph Ratzinger describes the eastward orientation of prayer as a fusion of a “cosmic and salvation-historical orientation of piety.”[5] Since churches are normally oriented eastward, the characteristic celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass ‘with one’s back to the people’ corresponds to this logic of praying ad orientem.
However, a different situation arises with regard to the altar layout of St. Peter’s Basilica. Old St. Peter’s was already built as a basilica with its entrance oriented to the east: the apse was in the west, the entrance in the east, and between them was the confessio with the altar above the tomb of St. Peter. Thus, pilgrims could pray at the martyr’s tomb while the service was celebrated above—oriented to the east. This architectural principle is found in numerous early Christian basilicas in Rome: the entrance in the east, the cathedra in the apse in the west—in the Lateran as the Pope's Cathedra, in St. Peter's as the Cathedra Petri—and a confessio (a type of sanctuary) and an altar seemingly oriented versus populum (towards the people).
Si altare sit ad orientem, versus populum[6]
The rubrics of the old Roman Missal also acknowledge this topographical phenomenon: if the altar faces east, the priest celebrates versus populum—not to face the people, but to pray with them ad orientem. The rubric of the rite servandus initially refers to the orientation of the celebrant during acclamations such as Dominus vobiscum or the dismissal cry Ite, missa est—elements in which the rubrics normally require the priest to turn towards the congregation. In these instances, the priest celebrates Mass both ad orientem and versus populum. The assumption that the priest would change his position at the altar during the Eucharistic Prayer and turn his back to the people would be absurd. Historical evidence also confirms this orientation of the celebration: the Pope always celebrated the solemn Papal Mass at the Confessio Altar in St. Peter's Basilica facing the people (versus populum) in order to pray ad orientem.
Cardinal Burke, however, had not been granted the privilege of celebrating Mass at the Papal altar. The Pontifical Mass took place at the bronze cathedra altar of St. Peter's Basilica, which was erected in the 1980s and where services are otherwise celebrated daily according to the Roman Rite Missal in use since the Second Vatican Council: facing the people (versus populum), and thus also ad orientem. But instead of following this early Christian orientation of prayer to the east and celebrating the usus antiquior at the cathedra altar facing the people (versus populum) and ad orientem, Burke and those in charge decided to celebrate 'facie ad cathedram' – facing the cathedra and thus to the west. This led to the paradoxical situation that Burke raised the host and chalice not to the east, but to the choir positioned behind the cathedra altar.
Liturgical culture war
The question of the direction of celebration is not a minor issue. Especially in traditionalist circles, it seems to be seen as the epitome of resistance to the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council. However, the Pontifical Mass in St. Peter's shows that the chosen direction of celebration was not about a pious turning towards God—otherwise, the "Mass of all ages" would have followed the early Christian principle of prayer directed eastward, which has Christ as the "Sun of Righteousness" (Malachi 3:20a) as the object of prayer. Rather, the direction of celebration served as a means of demarcation: the demarcation between clergy and laity, but above all, the demarcation from the Roman liturgy after the Second Vatican Council. Thus, the direction of celebration is no longer an expression of a shared orientation in prayer toward the expected Messiah, but rather a marker of identity. Instead of being a place of unity in faith and prayer, the service degenerates into the arena of a liturgical-political culture war—and thus loses the spiritual, theological, and tradition-conscious depth that its adherents believe they find in it.[7]
Florian Kluba
Florian Kluba is a research associate at the Department of Liturgical Studies at the University of Bonn and is investigating the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours in the context of the Reformation in his doctoral project. He is a doctoral scholarship recipient of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
[1] Jan Hendrik Stens, Was the Traditional Latin Mass in St. Peter's Basilica a Liberating Act?, quoted from: https://www.domradio.de/artikel/war-die-alte-messe-im-petersdom-ein-befreiungsschlag [last accessed: November 3, 2025].
[2] Cf. Christian Geyer, Where Leo quietly corrects Francis, quoted from: https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/debatten/alte-messe-im-petersdom-wie-leo-still-und-leise-franziskus-korrigiert-110751867.html [last accessed: November 3, 2025].
[3] Martin Wallraff, Christus Verus Sol. Sun Worship and Christianity in Late Antiquity (Yearbook for Antiquity and Christianity. Supplementary Volume 32), Münster 2001, 60.
[4] Cf. the Old Testament promise on this matter in Malachi 3:20a: “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.”
[5] Joseph Ratzinger, Note on the Question of the Direction of Celebration, in: Theology of the Liturgy. The sacramental foundation of Christian existence, ed. by Gerhard Ludwig Müller (= JRGS 11), Freiburg i. Br., Basel, Vienna 2008, 463–468, here 466f.
[6] Ritus servandus in celebratione Missae, V. De Oratione, §3, in: Missale Romanum ex decreto SS. Concilii Tridentini restitutum summorum pontificum cura recognitum, Editio terita iuxta typicam, Regensburg 1964.
The wording of the entire rubric is as follows: Si altare sit ad orientem, versus populum, celebrans versa facie ad populum, non vertit humeros ad altare, cum dictus est “Dominus vobiscum,” “Orate, fratres,” “Ite, missa est” vel daturus benedictionem; sed osculato altari in medio, ibi expansis et junctis manibus, ut supra, salutat populum, et dat benedictionem (cf. ibid.). A German working translation is added: When the altar is oriented to the east, facing the people, the celebrant, whose face is turned towards the people, does not turn his shoulders towards the altar when he says: “The Lord be with you,” “Pray, brothers,” “Go in peace,” or when he wants to give the blessing; but after kissing the altar in the middle, he greets the people there with outstretched and then joined hands, as described above, and gives the blessing.
[7] Andreas Odenthal, Traditionalists: Why the dispute over the Traditional Latin Mass is so politicized Interview on Deutschlandfunk with Ina Rottscheidt, quoted from: https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/traditionalisten-warum-der-streit-um-die-alte-messe-so-politisiert-wird-100.html [last accessed: 03.11.2025].
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